Well, this evening after work, I'll be packing a few more boxes to take with me on Saturday morning. I'm presently trying to move some things every time I drive from Buffalo to Meadville in advance of my permanent move in August. I'm storing these things in mom's basement until I decide whether to rent a place or buy something. Initially, I had hoped to be able to move in with mom so that I could be there for her most of the time. However, the thought of sharing her home and giving up her independence makes her very agitated. She just doesn't want that - yet. And maybe she will never want it, but I think the brothers and I know that the time is coming when she will be unable to be left on her own for any significant periods of time.
I'm leaning toward buying a small house near her, something with at least 2 bedrooms, so that she and I can decorate one for her to use occasionally. If she becomes comfortable in my home, it might be easier for her to one day move in with me. That way, brothers and I could get into her place to clean it up (she has really become a terrible housekeeper), and maybe to get it on the market eventually.
Well, here's hoping that when I walk in tomorrow morning, she'll know who I am!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
The Awakening
My name is Kathy, and this blog is about my mother and our family's journey with with her through Alzheimer's Disease. Let me tell you, we're only a few months into it, and it's truly a trip.
I have three brothers who are at present doing what they can to step up and help with mom's daily living, and I am planning to retire from my job at the University at Buffalo in order to move back to Meadville PA to take my part. I'm sorry to lose the job, I enjoy what I do at UB. I'm sorry, too, to sell my sweet little condo where I've been content for many years. But I'm blessed to be able to do these things so that I can help my mom walk this difficult path.
Early in 2009, my brothers and I began to notice that mom was a little "off". She was forgetting where she had put her purse/keys/shoes/gloves/head. Other signs appeared gradually. She started to opt out of hosting family gatherings. Her cooking skills diminished. She had minor a fender bender. Then another. And finally the one that led to her diagnosis. I got the story secondhand from my brother that she had bumped into another car and then left the scene. The police were called by a witness and they caught up with her at another location. Shortly after that, brother Tom made an appointment with her to see her physician, who did some light testing, made a referral to a neurologist, and told her that she shouldn't continue to drive. More tomorrow!
I have three brothers who are at present doing what they can to step up and help with mom's daily living, and I am planning to retire from my job at the University at Buffalo in order to move back to Meadville PA to take my part. I'm sorry to lose the job, I enjoy what I do at UB. I'm sorry, too, to sell my sweet little condo where I've been content for many years. But I'm blessed to be able to do these things so that I can help my mom walk this difficult path.
Early in 2009, my brothers and I began to notice that mom was a little "off". She was forgetting where she had put her purse/keys/shoes/gloves/head. Other signs appeared gradually. She started to opt out of hosting family gatherings. Her cooking skills diminished. She had minor a fender bender. Then another. And finally the one that led to her diagnosis. I got the story secondhand from my brother that she had bumped into another car and then left the scene. The police were called by a witness and they caught up with her at another location. Shortly after that, brother Tom made an appointment with her to see her physician, who did some light testing, made a referral to a neurologist, and told her that she shouldn't continue to drive. More tomorrow!
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